A sixth first team keeper?
©IMAGO
Chelsea seem intent on hitting the ground running in this summer’s transfer window, with the club linked to a number of big-name players in the transfer market. One such player is none other than AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan. According to the BBC, the Stamford Bridge side are in talks with the Serie A club about signing the French shot-stopper. However, the transfer fee remains a stumbling block in negotiations, with the Italian giants holding out for a fee in the region of €30 million.
If Chelsea are forced to accept such demands and indeed sign the 29-year-old shot-stopper at that price, it would take their summer spending thus far to a total of just under €132m, following the arrival of Kendry Páez, Dário Essugo, Estêvão and Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap. However, what’s even more eye-catching than this summer’s spending is the sheer quantity of keepers that the London club have signed over the years. And while Maignan may go on to become a competent No.1 for Enzo Maresca’s team, the club’s history between the posts would perhaps suggest otherwise.
11 goalkeepers signed in 10 years
Indeed, over the course of the last 10 seasons Chelsea have signed no less than 11 goalkeepers for a total sum of €197m. That would mean that Maignan’s arrival would take that total spending on shot-stoppers to €127m – which is more money than clubs like Norwich, Hull and Sunderland have spent on all players in that same period of time. As we can see in the graphic above, many of those signings were free transfers for older players, brought to the club with the sole intention of filling in as second or third-choice options between the posts. But in recent seasons the Stamford Bridge side have invested heavily in the position to very little success.
For example, in the 2018/19 season the club broke the world record for a goalkeeper by signing Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for €80m. However, the young Spaniard struggled to live up to expectations and just two years later Edouard Mendy was signed from Stade Rennais for €24m. The French keeper also struggled to truly nail down the No.1 spot and over the course of the next three years Chelsea signed three more keepers in Gabriel Slonina, Djordje Petrovic and Robert Sánchez. Curiously and perhaps vitally relevant to the potential signing of Maignan, the club also signed two new keepers in the season that has just ended a few weeks ago, when Mike Penders and Filip Jørgensen also joined the club. And while things are likely to change in the coming months, Chelsea are currently set to go into next season with no less than six first team players on their books before Maignan has even put pen to paper and joined the club.
